Today, Thursday 18 October, the Office for National Statistics released the latest quarterly crime statistics.
The statistics show no change in overall levels of crime, but there have been rises in some types of theft and in some lower-volume but higher-harm types of violence.
The response to the statistics from the Minister for Policing and Fire, Nick Hurd, can be found below along with a factsheet on the Government’s work to tackle crime.
Further information on the Government’s Serious Violence Strategy can be found here.
Minister for Policing and the Fire Service Nick Hurd said:
This Government is determined to tackle all types of crime – and although the chance of being a victim remains low, we are taking decisive action in a number of areas.
To combat serious violence our strategy addresses the root causes of crime with a focus on early intervention and we have announced a new £200m Youth Endowment Fund to support young people at risk of involvement in crime.
On top of this, we are consulting on a public health approach to serious violence and giving police extra powers to tackle knife crime through our Offensive Weapons Bill.
We also recognise the demand on police, which is why the Home Secretary has said he will prioritise police funding in the Spending Review.
Government action to tackle crime
- On 2 October the Home Secretary set out a range of innovative new measures to address violent crime in the UK. The new package of announcements to be taken forward by the government includes:
- a consultation on new legal duty to underpin a ‘public health’ approach to tackling serious violence
- a new £200 million youth endowment fund- this will be delivered over 10 years and is aimed at 10 to 14 year olds
- an Independent review of drug misuse to ensure law enforcement agencies and policy are targeting and preventing the drug-related causes of violent crime effectively
- The Government’s Serious Violence Strategy, published on 9 April, puts greater focus on steering young people away from a life of crime, while continuing to promote a strong law enforcement response. The strategy sets out an ambitious programme of work with 61 commitments for further action including a new £22m Early Intervention Youth Fund and a new £3.6m NPCC/NCA led National County Lines Coordination Centre which launched on 21 September.
- On 20 June we introduced the Offensive Weapons Bill in Parliament which will be at report stage on 22 October. The Bill contains new offences on acid and knives. This includes a new offence on possessing acid and corrosive substances in a public place without good reason; preventing the sale, both in-store and online, to persons under 18 of those substances that are found to be of most harm and commonly used in acid attacks; and to stop the delivery of both bladed products, such as knives, and acid to people’s homes when bought online.
- We are supporting 68 local projects through the £1.5m (anti-knife crime) Community Fund and announced a new £1.4m police social media hub to tackle online violence.
- We have provided a strong and comprehensive police funding settlement that will increase total investment in policing by over £460m in 2018-19.
- We have invested over £333m through the Police Transformation Fund to 110 projects including transforming the police approach to child sexual exploitation to protect vulnerable children. We are also enhancing our firearms intelligence, detection and enforcement capabilities and policies, internationally, at the UK border and within the UK.
- We are publishing our draft Domestic Abuse Bill which will protect and support victims, recognise the life-long impact domestic abuse can have on children and introduce a Domestic Abuse Commissioner to hold agencies to account. We have pledged £100 million in dedicated funding until 2020 to tackle violence against women and girls.
- In July 2017, we published the Drug Strategy, which brings together police, health, community and global partners to tackle the illicit drug trade, protect the most vulnerable and help those with a drug dependency to recover and turn their lives around.